Current Affairs Quiz-September, 2020

Notes:
The United States of America (USA) has recently revoked the Visas of more than 1,000 Chinese students and researchers.
The move is under the directions of the US President Donald Trump in May 2020. The proclamation is aimed at Chinese nationals who are suspected to have ties with Chinese military. In this regard, China has accused US of racial discrimination.

Notes:
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has become the first Indian company to surpass USD 200 billion in market capitalisation. The RIL had market capitalisation of Rs.15.3 trillion (USD 208 billion).
RIL is followed by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) with market capitalization of Rs 8.75 trillion (USD 119 billion). RIL is the 40th most valuable firm globally.

Notes:
The United Kingdom (UK) has entered into an Economic Partnership Agreement with Japan.
This partnership is seen as a historic move, since this is the first trade agreement signed by the UK post Brexit. The agreement is said to foster trade between the two countries by about 15 billion Euros.

Notes:
UN Day for South- South Cooperation is observed every year on September 12.
South-South cooperation is a manifestation of solidarity among countries of the South which aims to attain various development goals. It marks the 42nd anniversary of the 1978 adoption of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action for Promoting and Implementing Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries.

Notes:
The Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar represented India and co-chaired the ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting.
The meeting was held in a virtual mode. The meeting was participated by Foreign Ministers of the 10 ASEAN Member countries and India. During the meeting, a new ASEAN-India Plan of Action (2021-2025) was adopted.

Notes:
India has voted in favour of a COVID-19 resolution in the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA), along with 168 nations.
The resolution reaffirms international cooperation to respond to COVID. It also acknowledges the WHO’s leadership role during the pandemic. The U.S. and Israel voted against the resolution while Ukraine and Hungary abstained.

Notes:
The new Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020, introduced by the government empowers RBI to restructure Cooperative banks.
The bill was tabled on the first day of the Parliament’s Monsoon Session by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The bill which came in the form of ordinance was earlier withdrawn. Under this amendment, the Reserve Bank of India can restructure distressed cooperative banks.

Notes:
China has successfully launched a solid-propellant carrier rocket from a ship in the Yellow Sea and successfully sent nine satellites into orbit.
This is the country’s second such sea-based launch mission. The tenth rocket of the Long March 11 family, the Long March 11-HY2 was launched carrying nine remote-sensing satellites belonging to the Jilin-1 Gaofen 03-1 group.

Notes:
The former President of West African nation Mali, Moussa Traore, has recently passed away at the age of 83.
The veteran leader had ruled the African country for more than 22 years. Eight years after Mali gained independence from France, Traore entered into power in a military rebellion, succeeding the country’s first president, Modibo Keita.

Notes:
The Lok Sabha has passed the Salary, Allowances and Pension of MPs (Amendment) Bill, 2020.
The Bill would reduce the salaries of Members of Parliament by 30 % for a period of 1 year to meet the exigencies arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this year, the government had brought an ordinance in this regard.